Corvus Corax Eile Navigation Challenge
Forum Messages
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 1 2011, 9:21pm | Can people e-mail me at kevin.oriordan at imra dot ie to let me know if they're coming on Saturday so I know how many maps to print out for people? Thanks, Kevin. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 5 2011, 10:33am | Hi all, 21 people have e-mailed me to request maps. I have 25 maps printed for tomorrow. If you're coming along tomorrow and haven't e-mailed me, please bring along a copy of the East-West Dublin Mountains map (http://www.eastwestmapping.ie) in case we run out of pre-printed maps. Terrain wise, this nav challenge should be far more runnable than the last. Running distance approx 16km if you stick to tracks/forest roads. Thanks, Kevin. |
| Derek Kellett | Aug 5 2011, 12:54pm | Can you confirm that Mick Kellett & Derek Kellett are inluded on that list of maps. Can somebody give me an invite to join the "MYIMRA" list. regards Derek K. |
| Pól Ó Murchú | Aug 5 2011, 1:11pm | need your phone number to invite you Derek. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 5 2011, 1:13pm | Hi Derek, Yes, the following people are on my maps list: Pol O'Murchu Zoran Skrba Gareth Little Finbar McGurren Derek Kellett Mick Kellett Brian Hill Eddie Hill Eoin Syron Declan Cunningham Joe Lalor Ger Power Caitlin Bent David Duffy Gerard Butler Val Jones Gavan Doherty Diarmuid O'Colmain Paul O'Grady Gerry Brady Torben Dahl Regards, Kevin. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 5 2011, 1:15pm | And Brendan Lawlor. So 3 maps left for anyone who wants to grab one. After that, it's a case of bring along your own map and take down controls at the start. |
| Derek Kellett | Aug 5 2011, 3:08pm | Thanks lads. mobile no. 087 1466292 |
| CaitlÃn Bent | Aug 5 2011, 3:40pm | Kevin, can you include Tom Galvin for a premarked map. thanks. |
| Kevin O'riordan | Aug 5 2011, 4:50pm | Okay, last map goes to Tommy. All maps have now been allocated. If you're coming tomorrow and haven't put your name on one, please bring your own east west map with you. |
| Justin Rea | Aug 5 2011, 9:20pm | Put me on the waitlist for a map ;-) Will bring an EastWest anyway. |
| niamh ni cholmain | Aug 5 2011, 9:22pm | Kevin, Only saw post re limited number of premarked maps now. I presume those that have to mark their own maps will have an opportunity to do this before the race start? Thanks, Niamh |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 5 2011, 9:27pm | Hi Niamh, Depending on numbers, it's probably fairest if you give me your map at registration and I can mark it out for you. Don't want to give some people a headstart on studying and planning their routes before the main field. If there's too many people tomorrow to make that practical, I'll give everyone five minutes before the start to jot down controls/study their maps. Kevin. |
| Brendan Lawlor | Aug 6 2011, 6:43pm | Well done today Kevin, despite the missing controls, the irate landowners, the dodgy weather and abundance of flies, it was lovely to be out! Joe and Diarmuid did I mention my top 5 finish?!! |
| Gareth Little | Aug 6 2011, 8:57pm | "Excuse me, can I help you? Your on my land!" best quote of the day! Half an hour looking for a phantom control, wading through thigh high rivers, mixing nettles with shorts and passing by a persons back window by about 20 metres wondering when the hounds will be released! Just another typical nav race! Nav races rock! I have an engagement party the night before the next one but am still thinking of showing up for the third and last one just to get my fix... Nice work Kev and all the other helpers, great work today. |
| Alan Ayling | Aug 6 2011, 9:25pm | Report added. In the car park afterwards: Brendan Lawlor: "So I must've got top ten then?" Kevin (consults results sheet): "Fourth". Brendan beams like a child given candy. Little moments like that are what these races are all about. A great day, despite the little things that came up. |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 6 2011, 9:44pm | Apologies for the mess that was today. Some issues were outside my control, others were due to me not getting out in advance to fully check the course for issues. If I ever plan an event like that again, I'll make sure I've signed up weeks in advance so I have time to properly survey the area, not the week before. To be honest, I overextended myself by trying to put on a one man orienteering event. Putting on a successful orienteering event is a club effort with separation of duties between organiser, planner and controller. (One person tags the control site, another person puts out the control, another person goes out afterwards to check they're all in place etc.). If you want high quality orienteering with recently resurveyed, accurate and complete maps, then I can't recommend the Irish Orienteering Association (www.orienteering.ie) enough. Helps that most of the events are in autumn/winter/spring when the heather has died down somewhat as well. If you're looking for a headless chicken race, IMRA should be your first stop. Not that it excuses a bad event but I actually live for the mayhem of an IMRA nav challenge race. The spending hours out on the mountain facing mental breakdown as you despair at being the last person out after making your umpteempt mistake hitting that unmarked wall, finding yourself waist deep in unmarked bog, spending a half hour looking for that control that's been buried in churned up muck by some tosser on a quad bike, only to come back to a podium finish wondering "how the hell did that happen?". Reminds me of the bit in Moire's book where she makes a major mistake only to end up finishing 3rd because the rest of the field hit a wall of vegetation while taking the "right route". Phillip's events last year were far too civilised with the whole fastest man wins thing. He made up for it last weekend though by catching out herd following fools like myself with Raven's Glen. Anyway, I turn you back over to Phillip's capable hands for next weekend's event. Personally I'm hoping it's the hell on earth epic that he promised to close off the league with, though I'm guessing he has to go easy on people at this point? |
| Derek Kellett | Aug 6 2011, 11:29pm | Lads Fair dues, great craic, mayhem & carnage. All right some issues, but Kevin this will live long on your C.V. with a smile. There were times out there I felt like "The Fugitive" awaiting the release of the hounds. And I finished, nice day in the country. Many thanks Derek |
| Brendan Lawlor | Aug 7 2011, 2:06pm | Saturday's route - baying hounds not shown http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104436024 |
| Paul O'Grady | Aug 8 2011, 2:08pm | Just a quick note to thank Kevin for Saturday - and to thank him for his honest and open opinion on the role of a race director for these type of events. For one man Kevin did way more than was expected. I love the chaos of these races as much as the next person - and I'm generally found up to my ears in the chaos if not causing the chaos in these type of races - but Kevin's post made me stop and think - as an organisation are we causing this chaos by asking a sole race director to do what an entire orienteering club does over a weekend? What does IMRA want from these races - do we want chaos, do we want an orienteering event - or do we want some sort of a race - what exactly are we doing or trying to do and what exactly are we trying to stage. My own opinion is that IMRA should be staging something closer to an open mountain race and let the orienteering clubs stage the other stuff. I love the chaos and the adventure but it is leading to an awful lot of DNFs and low numbers entering these events which is unfortunate. Maybe it's something to discuss at the AGM. Thanks again Kevin Roll on the league curtain closer!! |
| Pól Ó Murchú | Aug 8 2011, 4:40pm | I'd have to agree with Pauls Post. While I really enjoyed Saturdays race I did find it somewhat annoying to have spent the best part of an hour looking for two control points that weren't there. This is no reflection on Kevin or his race directing abilities and I think he did an excellent job and thank you for that. I think it's important that all control points should be in place before the race start and that the race director is aware of any problems with access etc in advance. If this means more volunteers then we need more volunteers and without volunteers no race. I don't think the area lended itself well to this type of race either as there was a lot of private property around some of the control points and it was almost impossible to avoid. Certainly from reading the race report and talking to other runners afterwards who did the race at least 6 or 7 people found themselves face to face with angry landowners. This is not good at all for IMRA's reputaion and is certainly something we should be aiming to avoid. Overall an enjoyable event all the same. |
| diarmuid O'Colmain | Aug 8 2011, 6:46pm | Interesting and useful debate, I think. I soldiered with Pol for a part of the race and shared his frustration. When I failed to find control 4, after not getting 3, I just gave up; I see Pol kept going to the end - well done Pol! And I have no doubt that the event was also very frustrating for Kevin, who does absolutely Trojan work for IMRA. On the comparison with orienteering events however; I don't think this is a good comparison. Our Nav events should be designed in such a manner as to allow them to be put on by 2 or 3 people, otherwise they are not sustainable. I would suggest that you don't need more than 4 controls out on the open mountain somewhere, with the emphasis being on navigation choice. (Actually in my opinion there wasn't much wrong with the first event except that it was much too long) In orienteering events, typically you have around 35 controls altogether and 5 or 6 different courses with different graded levels of difficulty, which is a completely different matter. So what type of race are we seeking? I think we are looking for a mountain race where the route is not prescribed, and which gives hill runners the opportunity to learn about navigation. But Joe Lalor is the man who initiated these races in the beginning - he may have something to say about them. Of course one of the problems we have encountered is the reason orienteering events are not generally held in the summer - there is too much undergrowth (even overgrowth - man-eating ferns and brambles) at this time of year,which certainly makes it difficult for the planner to provide reasonable alternative routes. |
| Zoran Skrba | Aug 9 2011, 10:25am | I enjoyed the event. Thanks to Kevin for stepping in and organising it. I thought the course was challenging, and well laid out. The only thing that annoyed me was that I did not think of ringing Kevin, when I was at the bridge and could not see the control. Instead I waisted about 30-45 mins looking around, even going to the road across and above Glencree river, and then heading back to Hornet's memorial, and back to the footbridge. Just wanted to make sure I was in the right place! Next time, hopefully, I'll know to ring the RD instead of trekking the extra 5k :). |
| CaitlÃn Bent | Aug 10 2011, 10:38am | I echo everyone in thanking Kevin for stepping in so that the event could go ahead, but Zoran you should'nt have to use your mobile to complete a course, except in an emergency situation. I think Pól and Duirmuid have said it all. Those who thought it was 'great craic' did they discover some magic mushroom in the woods?!:) |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 10 2011, 10:43am | If anyone wants a go of next Sunday's one, Phillip has a family thing to attend to that day so is unavailable as race director. If we're stuck, I can step in again, unless there are any other takers... |
| Kevin O'Riordan | Aug 10 2011, 10:44am | I understand the course is already planned out... |
